Ryan and I recently had the honor of attending the
Newseum's open house! This beautiful venue is brand spankin' new...they just opened to the public this past Friday. The building is located at 6th & Pennsylvania, very close to where Constitution and Pennsylvania meet. You won't believe the view of the Capitol! Here are a few photos from our visit!
The main lobby area is bright, airy, and huge:
The screen you see is actually the largest indoor HDTV in the world. They flipped news images the whole night and also scanned the crowd with cameras:
These elevators are the coolest ones I've ever seen. There is no elevator shaft and you can see all the way around and through it. The elevator is raised by a huge pole that comes out of the ground. There must be a 100' hole underneath the building:
Plus they're large enough to fit a bar or some furniture! Here's Ryan enjoying a comfy ottoman. When's the last time you sat down in an elevator?
Here's the reward for going to the 6th & 7th floors:
That huge rooftop patio connects to this beautiful reception room. It would be perfect for a smaller modern-themed wedding:
The next floor has a beautiful wood-floored hallway, complete with a newspaper from every country displayed on the wall:
The largest reception room can hold up to about 250 guests:
And look at the view! Can you imagine an outdoor ceremony here, looking out over the Capitol building?
A view of Pennsylvania Avenue:
And Penn in the opposite direction, looking out over the west wing of the National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Castle, the Museum of Natural History, the Washington Monument, and the Federal Trade Commission building:
There's plenty of sightseeing to be done inside, as well! Here is a large portion of the Berlin Wall:
And a hunk of a famous NYC building:
The Newseum is quickly going to be one of DC's most popular venues. Their rental fees are comparable to most other downtown locations and with in-house catering by Wolfgang Puck, how can you go wrong? For more information on renting this beautiful space, check out
their useful website.
Labels: DC Vendors
Last week I received a fun envelope in my mailbox. It's a great day when the mailman provides something other than the ShopWise circular and an ad from Comcast. 
Couture Maps sent me an adorable letterpressed sample! Stephannie Barba is the artist out of San Francisco who comes up with these adorable maps. I think their return address is the cutest. I could just eat up that little crab:
The sample map is of the Seychelles. I wish I could show you how thick and dreamy the paper is. The letterpress just sinks right into it and creates deep ridges:
I was so impressed by the attention to detail. Look at the stamp they used!
Couture Maps will draw a wedding map for any location worldwide! I blogged about them last summer -- their designs just keep getting cuter and cuter. If you're on the market for invitations or other paper goods, Stephannie creates those too!
